Stroke and heart attack more likely in warm or cold weather?

Similar questions: Stroke heart attack warm cold weather.

Snow shoveling I have not seen a chart but in heavy snow areas there are always a large number of older people who have strokes or heart attacks while shoveling snow. It is a very great exertion for any sedentary person. Sources: 38 years as an MD .

Stroke and heart attack admissions are linked to cold weather Cold weather can increase the number of women being admitted to hospital for stroke or heart attack. Researchers who looked at hospital admissions among women aged under 50 years in 17 countries found links between lower temperatures and a higher risk of hospitalisation. Overall, a 5°C drop in temperature was associated with a 7% increase in admissions for stroke (incidence rate ratio 0.93 (95% confidence interval 0.89 to 0.97)) and a 12% increase in admissions for heart attack (incidence rate ratio 0.88 (0.8 to 0.97)), say the authors of the study (Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 2004:57:749-57)."To our knowledge, this is the first report based on an international multi-centre study to investigate and show a clear association between climate and hospital admission rates of these events among young women from a range of different climatic zones," write the authors, Choon Lan Chang, Martin Shipley, Michael Marmot, and Neil Poulter, from Imperial College and University College London.

The researchers used data from the World Health Organization collaboration study from 24 centres in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America with a wide range of average monthly temperatures, from a low of - 4.6°C in Beijing to a high of 30.1°C in Thailand. The study looked at the relation between variation in three climatic variables—temperature, rainfall, and humidity—and the risk of hospitalisation among women aged 15 to 49 for venous thromboembolism, arterial stroke, and acute myocardial infarction. The study included 1146 cases of venous thromboembolism, 2269 patients with stroke, and 369 cases of acute myocardial infarction.

The results show significant associations between temperature and the rates of admission for stroke and acute myocardial infarction but not venous thromboembolism. "Although the negative association between AMI acute myocardial infarction and stroke with mean air temperature was not seen in all countries, on average, a 5°C reduction in mean air temperature was associated with a 7% and 12% increase in the expected hospitalisation rates of stroke and AMI, respectively," write the authors."These data show that among young women from 17 countries, the rate of hospitalised AMI, and to a lesser extent stroke, was higher with lower mean environmental air temperature. No such association was seen with VTE venous thromboembolism events nor were humidity and rainfall linked with either AMI, stroke, or VTE hospitalisation rates.

" The authors say that several mechanisms may explain the association between temperature and the risk of stroke and acute myocardial infarction, including changes in clotting mechanisms, lipid levels, and blood pressure. They say that seasonal variation in lipid levels seems an unlikely explanation for the large seasonal variation in the incidence of stroke recorded in the study. "By contrast, blood pressure, which shows marked seasonal variation—being higher in winter (colder) months—is a strong risk factor for both stroke and AMI but not for VTE," they write.

However, extremely hot weather causes dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. These risks increase when the humidity is above 70 percent and the temperature is above 70 degrees F. Heat and humidity interfere with the body's natural cooling process.

Exercising outside in hot and humid conditions can be hard on your heart. This is true even for athletes who haven't yet adapted to the heat. The problem is made worse because the heart is trying to deliver blood and oxygen to your working muscles while your body is trying to cool off by sweating.

If you sweat too much, you lose fluid. This decreases your total blood volume. That means your heart has to pump even harder to get the smaller volume of blood to your working muscles, skin and the other body parts.

When you lose too much fluid, your body temperature rises and your nervous system doesn't work properly. Extreme fluid loss can lead to brain and heart damage. A good way to monitor your body fluid level is to weigh every morning after using the bathroom.

If you weigh two pounds less than normal in the morning, you're probably dehydrated and need to drink more water before doing any vigorous physical activity.(You may have lost weight as water but not as fat.)If you plan to exercise outside in hot and humid weather, wear very light, comfortable clothing and work out in the early morning or late evening, if possible. Know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. If any symptoms appear, stop exercising and cool down immediately by dousing yourself with cold water.

You may need to get medical attention. Heat exhaustion can progress quickly to heat stroke, which can kill you. I'm sorry, I couldn't find a monthly chart.

Sources: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/329/7469/760-d .

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